Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Wednesday, 25 February 2009

BBC News

• Firms surveyed over transport useHundreds of Cambridgeshire businesses are being asked their views on transport plans for the future.
• Plan to keep fares rising deniedThe government has rejected a request from train companies to make sure fares keep rising, the BBC has learned.
• Tube boss O'Toole to step downThe man who has overseen the London Underground for six years steps down.
• Route finderA road test of sat-nav designed for disabled drivers
• Robinson steps in on airport planFirst Minister Peter Robinson objects to the terms of a motion on a proposed runway extension at Belfast City Airport.
• Wrightbus to cut 235 jobsBallymena-based coach-building firm Wrightbus announces plans to make almost of quarter of its staff redundant.

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy

• New Chair for Advantage West Midlands Business Secretary Lord Mandelson today announced the appointment of Sir Roy McNulty as the new Chair of Advantage West Midlands (AWM).

Financial Times

• Ford chiefs to accept 30% salary cutsBill Ford, chairman of Ford, and Alan Mulally, the Detroit carmaker's chief executive, have agreed to cut their salaries by 30 per cent this year and next as part of a drive to show that the company's senior ranks are sharing in the sacrifices demanded from lower-level workers
• Ryanair to end check-in desksRyanair, the Irish carrier, is planning to abolish conventional check-in facilities at airports across its European network by early next year forcing all passengers...
• US Airways to stop charging for drinksUS Airways plans to stop charging passengers for soda, tea and other drinks this week in the latest sign that the airlines industry is braced for one of the steepest declines in demand for air travel in its history
• Troubled waters for Tui's Hapag saleGerman investors planning to buy shipping unit face problems raising cash required

The Guardian

• UK's largest coach and bus builder cuts 235 jobsThe UK's largest coach and bus builder announced 235 job losses today at its headquarters in Northern Ireland.
• ID cards, cameras, border controls - everything is on recordThe Home Office says it will "transform our border control" by gathering information on all travellers entering or leaving the country by air, sea or rail.
• Rail firms to accept fall in ticket prices¢ Minister refuses to protect franchises during deflation ¢ Operators may hike open fares to claw back revenueThe government is to boost recession-hit rail passengers by allowing fares to fall next year in a move that could force some train operators to hand back their franchises. The rail minister, Lord Adonis, has told train companies that he will not reverse a looming drop in ticket prices. The rail industry reacted with dismay to the news, which will be confirmed by the minister when he appears before the transport select committee today.Most rail fares, including season tickets, are cappe...

The Herald

• Anger grows as stalemate in £510m trams project row continuesPoliticians have clashed again over Edinburgh’s halted £510m tram project as talks remained in stalemate yesterday. David McLetchie, Scottish Conservative chief whip and MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, raised issues over the debacle as he wrote to the Auditor General.

The Independent

• Tube chief steps down to return home to AmericaThe head of London's Tube network has quit, it emerged last night. London Underground's managing director, Tim O'Toole, stepped down to return to his home in the United States, Transport for London said.

The Scotsman

• Deflation may force rail fare cutsRail companies look set to be forced to cut fares on many of their most popular tickets because of falling prices in the rest of the economy.

The Telegraph

• Cheaper rail fares as operators told to slash pricesThe cost of rail travel has been rising faster than the rate of inflation but operators will today be told that fares must fall as the economy suffers.
• Bmi cuts routes between Heathrow and the NorthBmi has abandoned its services from Heathrow to Durham Tees Valley and Leeds Bradford Airports.

Times Online

• Ryanair: no complaints about mobiles Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary told a press conference that the airline has not received a single complaint about the use of mobile phones onboard.
• Rail groups ordered to cut fares for commuters Train companies are to be forced to cut the price of season tickets and off-peak fares for the first time since privatisation.
• Rail fare reduction: taxpayer will pay in the end The one thing passengers have been able to rely upon since rail privatisation 13 years ago is that ticket prices always go up.

Reuters News

• Rail operators could be forced to cut faresLONDON (Reuters) - Struggling rail operators will have to cut fares next year because the government is refusing to bend ticket-pricing rules that were not designed for a period of deflation, The Times said on Wednesday.

Transport Briefing

• Thameslink trains to be prototypes for Crossrail fleetMembers of the Crossrail project team will help finalise the technical details of the new Thameslink train fleet in a bid to create a national specification for a high capcity urban train control system.
• London Bridge regeneration sealed by Shard contractConstruction of an 80-storey landmark tower at London Bridge station has been given the green light after property development company and site owner LBQ signed a contract with construction firm Mace Group.
• Tube managing director O'Toole quits for US returnLondon Underground managing director Tim O'Toole is to quit the Tube network and return to his home in the United States.

Derby Telegraph

• I'll demand answers from PM and Mandelson over rail jobsA SENIOR politician has pledged to tackle Prime Minister Gordon Brown head-on over the decision to name a Japanese train-maker as preferred bidder for a multi-billion-pound rail contract.

Journal Live

• Transport bosses back Think campaignNEGLECTING the region’s ports and airports could cost the regional economy hundreds of millions of pounds.
• National Express could lose out to rivalsTRAIN operator National Express has signalled fears of losing money if rivals get approval to expand services on the East Coast Main Line.
• North will not gain from £13.5bn rail and road plansPLANS to spend billions of pounds upgrading roads and railways across the UK will fail to help the North East economy, experts warned.

The Press and Journal (Aberdeen)

• Council acts to reassure parents over school busesA north-east council is reassuring parents it does not provide school bus services œon the cheap.
• Airport can soar to new heightsNew radar technology should allow Inverness Airport the independence to attract more airlines, transport bosses revealed yesterday.
• MP™s Inverness bypass ˜figures fiddled™ claim is dismissedTransport Minister Stewart Stevenson yesterday rejected a claim that figures had been œfiddled to prevent the Inverness bypass being granted funding.

The York Press

• Rail firm urged to help York cyclists THE company which runs York Railway Station is being urged by city councillors to make good on its intentions to boost the building™s green credentials by improving cycle access and parking.

Wales Online

• Better trains could be worse for West WalesRAIL links between West Wales and London could be eroded because the new InterCity trains will be longer than the old.

Bucks Free Press

• Council's £200,000 overspend on road repairs BUCKINGHAMSHIRE County Council has reportedly overspent by £200,000 on repairing roads damaged in the recent freezing weather conditions.

Northants Evening Telegraph

• Passengers say new station provides a first-class servicePassengers have given Corby railway station a first-class rating.
• The train now standing is the first in 19 years . . .A futuristic Corby railway station gleamed before the sun rose as people flocked to witness a momentous occasion.
• £2.5m resurfacing scheme for A14 between Rothwell and KetteringA £2.5m scheme to replace the worn out road surface on both sides of the A14 between Junction 3 for Rothwell and Junction 7 for Kettering, Northamptonshire, will start on the

Peterborough Telegraph

• Stansted Airport protesters claim 'errors of law' by GovernmentCampaigners have asked the High Court to quash the decision to expand Stansted Airport, saying "errors of law" have been made by the Government.

Washington Post

• GM kills plan for new Michigan small-engine plant DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. has scrapped plans to build a new factory to make engines for the Chevrolet Volt, instead choosing the less-costly option of assembling the engines at an existing plant.
• Top Ford execs take pay cuts, more buyouts offered DETROIT -- Hourly workers at Ford Motor Co. will get yet another round of buyout and early retirement offers, and the company's top two executives will take 30 percent pay cuts as Ford tries to find a way out of the worst auto sales slump in 26 years.

Railnews

• News: Obama plans £9 billion for US high-speed rail PRESIDENT Obama’s new economic recovery package for the United States includes and immediate $8 billion — over £5.5 billion — for high-speed passenger train services.

Aviation Industry

• Recycling New recycling facilities are set for ˜take off™ in Stansted™s terminal building this week, enabling passengers to play their part to improve even further the airport™s waste management performance.

Other News Sources

• Will stimulus funds put rail on the fast track?The US economic stimulus package is fueling the country's beleaguered efforts to create a railroad system that would rival Japan's bullet train and France's TGV high-speed rail.
• More opposition to bus route plansA pressure group representing people in East Twerton has added its objections to the weight of opposition building against plans for a new bus route through Bath.
• Bus firm seeking people to test ride servicesArriva has recently received complaints about changes to the services it runs across Southend, Rayleigh, Castle Point and Basildon.
• County cuts rural bus services in WiltshireWiltshire County Council is set to put another £400,000 into funding public transport this year but will cut a number of small rural services.
• Airport campaigners launch High Court bidGOVERNMENT policy to increase air travel was today criticised by campaigners - for being completely at odds with its drive to cut carbon emissions.
• City's transport system 'one of worst in the UK'Transport links in Leicester are among the worst of any major city in the country, a study has revealed.
• Council backing for station plansAMBITIOUS plans for the “rebirth” of Llandovery railway station have the solid backing of local councillors.
• MPs vote for airport exemptions for Planning ActMPs today voted to introduce a new Bill that could open the door to exempt airport expansion from the Planning Act.
• Deflation may force rail fare cuts
• Transport workers gear up for women’s rights campaign dayNext week transport workers around the world will be challenging governments and employers to uphold women’s rights.
• Solar powered car at Florida UniversityThe University of Florida has purchased a solar powered car to be used by its Department of Sustainability and Energy Management. The Zenn car is a standard plug-in electric vehicle with three solar panels attached to the roof. It runs entirely on solar power, and can travel around 20 miles per day - not a huge distance, [...]
• Hybrid car runs on wave technologyHybrid car runs on wave technology
• Capt Sully goes to WashingtonCaptain Chesley Sullenberger tells congress his pay has been cut and the airline industry might no longer attract the

Other Subscription Services

• Tui on verge of sealing Hapag-Lloyd saleSPECULATION that TUI’s sale of Hapag-Lloyd to a consortium of Hamburg investors could fail is “totally unfounded”, sources close to the deal said.
• Shipowners outraged by light dues hikeINCREASE a
• Scandlines warns of job cuts while Norfolkline brings forward fleet reduction planRAPID decline in Europe’s short sea market has seen German ferry operator Scandlines warn of substantial job cuts and Maersk-owned Norfolkline bring forward a planned fleet reduction.